UDUPI: The hijab controversy and saffron shawl issue surfaced at two more colleges in Karnataka, one in Udupi district and another in Belagavi, on Friday.
A group of Muslim girl students wearing hijab and 300 Hindu boys wearing saffron shawls at Government PU College in Byndoor, Udupi, were prevented from entering classes. This is the fifth college in Udupi district - three in Kundapur, one in Udupi, and one in Byndoor - to witness a row over wearing hijab.
The issue that started at Government PU College for Girls, Udupi spread to more institutions - two government PU colleges in Shivamogga, Kundapur's Government Junior College, Bhandarkar's Arts and Science College (Kundapur), Government PU College, Byndoor and a government PU college in Belagavi, among others. However, it has been resolved at the Shivamogga colleges.
Both government college (Kundapur) and Bhandarkar's, sponsored by the Academy of General Education, Manipal, which were allowing students to wear the hijab inside classes, stopped them from entering the campus after the government recently ordered all government colleges in the state to not allow students wearing hijab or saffron shawl inside the campus.
In Belagavi, a group of students from government PU college in Ramadurga town came to class draping saffron shawls on Tuesday. But the incident came to light only on Friday after related video clips and photographs surfaced on social media. In the morning, the group of 10-12 students walked inside the campus wearing shawls but with the intervention of college staff and local police, who warned of action, the latter obliged and attended classes.
In Kundapur, for the third day in a row, authorities of Government Junior College tried to prevent girl students from entering the campus wearing hijab. However, students managed to gain entry and insisted they be allowed to attend lessons. Later, students and parents began to protest on the streets opposing the college decision. Meanwhile, nearly 100 Hindu boys came with saffron shawls, leading to tension on campus. The principal ordered the protesting students to leave, and the college has declared a holiday on Saturday.
Muslim girls staged a protest in front of Bhandarkar's college on Friday after being denied entry for wearing a headscarf. They sat on the road in front of the college gate and raised slogans asserting their right to wear hijab.
Kundapur MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty convened a meeting of parents of Muslim girls. The parents said that if the college had communicated about the hijab ban during the application process, they would have chosen a different institution.
Meanwhile, the six students at Government PU College for Girls in Udupi, where the hijab controversy began, continued their protest outside the campus.
Govt failed to find solution when row began: Khader
Mangaluru MLA UT Khader said the government failed to find a solution to the hijab row at the initial stage when it began in Udupi. "The issue started at Government PU College, Udupi and a clear decision should have been taken immediately. As far as I know, girls were allowed to wear hijab in Bhandarkar's college earlier. However, all of a sudden, they are preventing girls from wearing it. The court will put an end to the controversy over constitutional rights and uniform discipline," Khader said.
